1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to athletic training equipment. More particularly, it relates to a football centering device that delivers a football into the hands of a quarterback in a manner that very closely simulates the delivery by a human center.
2. Description of Related Art
A football offensive line coach will often desire to drill the offensive line at the same time the quarterback coach desires to drill the quarterback. As a result, the linemen often must practice plays without the presence of the center. Similarly, the quarterback must often wait for the linemen to finish their drills before he can commence with his practice.
For these and other reasons, inventors have developed a number of mechanical devices intended to deliver a football to a quarterback. For example, a hiking mechanism is shown in the following U.S. Pat. Nos.: 3,044,776 issued to Weidmaier et al.; 3,467,380 issued to Bonacci; 2,767,985 issued to Maxcey, Jr. et al; 3,399,892 issued to Jurkiewicz; and 4,906,001 issued to Vaughn. U.S. Pat. No. 3,700,238, issued to Mathis, is not directed towards developing the quarterback's communication with the center, but rather, is directed towards developing a quarterbacks timing subsequent to the snap. Other patents which show football training equipment but which do not show football centering devices are U.S. Pat. Nos.: 3,951,125 and 4,261,319 issued to Dixon; 2,940,757 issued to Britt and 2,521,649 issued to Paupa.
All mechanical football centering devices include a pivotable football delivery arm which simulates a center snapping a football upward from the ground into the hands of a quarterback. The delivery arm is biased toward the upwardly rotated snapped position. A latch holds the delivery arm downwardly, in opposition to the biasing means. A trigger, activatable by the quarterback, releases the delivery arm latch and allows the biasing means to swing the delivery arm upward, thereby snapping the football into quarterback's hands.
Existing mechanical football centering devices vary widely in usefulness. The usefulness depends on how closely the mechanical centering device replicates the actions and response of a human center. For example, quarterbacks signal the center to snap the ball by nudging the center's inner thigh or buttocks with the back of his hand. It follows that mechanical centering devices which include a trigger activatable by the back of the quarterback's hand are more useful than those centering devices which use foot-activated triggers. While the mechanical-football-centering art is developing, all existing devices suffer several deficiencies.
The first deficiency relates to the latch mechanism. Existing centering devices all use mechanical latches. Mechanical latches are problematic for several reasons. They can bind. They require an excessive amount of force to overcome the static friction. They can also require exaggerated displacement in order to release the latch. These qualities inherent in mechanical latches require the quarterback to practice signalling the center by activating the trigger in an exaggerated manner which does not realistically replicate the subtle nudge which the quarterback typically uses to signal a human center. If a quarterback practices triggering a mechanical latch too often he can develop unnatural signalling habits which can prove uncomfortable to a human center.
The second deficiency relates to the trigger mechanism. As previously noted, the better triggers simulate the buttocks of a center. It is preferable if the trigger replicates the movement of the center subsequent to the snap. Simulation of such motion is desired because it allows the quarterback to practice staying in contact with the center until the ball is delivered, which is referred to as "riding the center." The existing devices do not teach triggers designed to allow the quarterback to practice riding the center.
The third deficiency relates to the football holding mechanism. Most inventions disclose holding mechanisms which delivers the football to the quarterback in a longitudinal orientation, and at least one invention discloses a holding mechanism which delivers the football in a sideways orientation. But none of the existing devices disclose a holding mechanism capable of delivering the football at any angular orientation chosen by the quarterback. Also, none of the existing devices disclose a holding mechanism which can be repositioned for use by either right-handed or left-landed quarterbacks.
The fourth deficiency relates to the mobility of existing centering devices. It is preferable that the device be immobile when positioned for use. Thus, mechanical football centering training devices tend to be rather heavy and difficult to transport. Some existing devices attempt to improve portability by disposing upon the frame at least one wheel in rotatable engagement with the ground to enable easy wheelbarrow-style transport. However, inclusion of a wheel defeats the goal of providing a device which is immobile while in use. Thus, all presently available devices compromise between immobility and transportability.
Although the art is slightly developed, a need still remains for a device that is mechanically simple, and yet not limited by any of the foregoing deficiencies. None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.